


My Kind Of Town

by Atumun15



Series: The True Magic [2]
Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Angst, Hyunjin is the living embodiment of the cheshire cat, If You Squint - Freeform, King of Hearts - Freeform, M/M, Pain, alice in wonderland inspired, semi fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-06
Updated: 2018-07-06
Packaged: 2019-06-06 05:31:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15187859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Atumun15/pseuds/Atumun15
Summary: “If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn’t. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn’t be. And what it wouldn’t be, it would. You see?”





	My Kind Of Town

  * Time is dangerous.

  


Time is dangerous because it is everything. It is how long it takes you to pour milk into your cereal. The days it takes for your test results to come back from an examination. The hours of a school day, the minutes it takes water to boil, and the seconds coming down to a deadline. Time is everything and more, and someone who could manipulate it is far more dangerous than the element itself. Perhaps that is why the stars only chose people who wouldn’t use it against the world when blessing certain people with these abilities. But the stars were never supposed to bless someone with time. But yet, here was Bang Chan, in the middle of a school hallway with papers levitating around him and a fist inches away from a blow to his face. It wasn’t supposed to be like this.

  


Everything had stopped. One minute Chan was getting thrown against the locker with kicks and punches flying his way, and then there was nothing. At the time, Chan could have swore he heard the shattering of glass when the fist never came, but he wouldn’t ever actually admit it to anyone out loud until later. He was scared, because it wasn’t as if he were in some sort of odd universe with a hazy blue color and white wisps flying everywhere. Instead, it was entirely clear. Chan could see every single pore, every single hair follicle, every single little freckle across the whole of Yugyeom’s body, but he just wasn’t…. _moving_. Was it just some sort of sick joke they were playing on him? Did they just stop to see what he would do? To prove that he was actually insane like they insisted him to be? It was a possibility.

  


But even when Chan went to go grab the papers and try to let it fall to the ground, nothing worked and they just hovered in mid air. On any other anger ridden day, Chan would have beat all of them into a pulp for as long as this little episode lasted and then bolted all the way home, but he didn’t. It felt like his mind had cleared of all anger and was replaced by complete and utter fear. Nothing called out to him, but Chan’s head snapped up for some reason and was quick enough to catch the edges of bleach white hair rounding the corner before it was gone. Chan scrambled up in alarm, legs kicking against the ground but nearly falling to the ground in the process. “Hey! Wait!” Chan called out desperately, bursting through the school doors to see a boy, about the same height as Chan, rush down the steps and disappear into thin air the moment his foot hit the grass.

  


Chan stopped, gaping at the place the boy used to be and letting his fingers fly up to his hair and tug at it harshly. Was he going insane? Was he actually going insane? Tears tracked down his cheeks, but they were swept away by a soft thumb, and reassuring whispers breathed against his ears. He didn’t know who it was or what they were saying because when he looked up, he was still alone at the bottom of the steps, but breathing a little less heavily. “What the fuck is happening?” Chan whispered when he heard what sounded like glass shattering in reverse in the back of his head and everything moved around him. The wind picked up, the trees swayed, and the squirrels scouring the fields in front of him moved in a frenzy before the bell to the school rung and the birds squawked in discomfort at the shrill sound.

  


Chan picked himself back up at that, scrambling to rush down the street and get away from that hell hole before Yugyeom or the others figured out where he was and kill him. But it wasn’t as if he could go home either. His parents would murder him if they knew he skipped school. “Not like I have much of a choice,” Chan muttered to himself, swiping a hand through his hair. He didn’t go home. Something within him was dragging him far, far away from his home and taking him somewhere new, somewhere far more comfortable. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that same blonde hair from before, his nerves taking back over and whirling around to face it. It was the same figure as before. He seemed more frantic this time, staring down at his watch every two seconds before Chan lost sight of him in the crowd.

  


He followed mindlessly, trying to find the figure once more, but nothing came into view. Chan kept walking; he kept walking until he could smell fish and hear the water swaying at the piers. He stood on the very edge of one of the long bridges, watching the mountains in front of him with a fond feeling swelling in his heart. Chan wished he could stay there forever, just feeling the brushing of the wind’s fingers along his cheek bones and enjoying the quiet of the environment around him. But Chan knew he couldn’t stay there forever as school had long since let out and his parents were no doubt waiting for him at home, seething.

  


With a huff, Chan stumbled all the way back home, ignoring the blonde hair that slinked into the warehouse beside him as he walked away. Chan presumed that one day, he would come back and inspect that strange building, but today was not that day. At least. That’s what he thought. “Bang Chan! Get your ass in here right now!” He could hear his uncle’s drunken slurs from a house down, the man on the porch with a few empty bottles surrounding him. Chan sighed but never slowed; he climbed the steps with haste as to not piss him off even further. “First, you skip school, and then you come home late. I expected to come home to a clean house, kid! That’s your payment for your stay here.”

  


Chan didn’t say anything. He learned very quickly that sometimes it was best to just stay quiet at times like this. His uncle scoffed and turned away from Chan, muttering about how much of an idiot Chan was and that he’d get his punishment later. The teenager gulped and nodded, scurrying off into the house and flinching when the scent of vinegar hit his nose. “Momma?” Chan called out quietly, as to not disturb his uncle further on the porch, and said woman peeked her head out from the lounge, a solemn smile on her lips. Chan approached her, steps quick but quiet as he dragged her up to his room and shut the door behind him. “It’s four in the afternoon and he’s already drunk off his ass,” Chan hissed, dropping his bag aggressively on the floor. His mother flinched at the impact, guilt swarming in Chan’s chest. “Sorry…”

  


His mother stepped forward, pulling Chan into her body and hugging him tight. “I tried to stop him, but he’s stubborn. We both know that.” Chan squeezed his eyes shut, clutching his mother a little tighter. “Wait here,” she uttered quickly, separating herself from her son and rushing into her bedroom. Chan waited patiently, rocking on the balls of his feet when she came back in, multiple wads of money in hand. “Take this. Get yourself out. It’s too late for me, but it’s not too late for you.” Chan tried to argue with her, that she should come with him, but she only smiled sadly and shook her head. “One of us has to pay the price for the other before we both face downfall. Let me help you and be a real mother for once,” she pleaded, and Chan couldn’t say no.

  


“Okay.” She helped him pack a bag with everything he would need. They pulled each other into a hug and stayed like that for a while, making up for lost time between them within the last few years of his life. Chan jumped apart from his mother when they heard screams from downstairs. “Mother, please, just come with me!” Chan tried to convince her as she shoved him over to the window, but she wasn’t listening. Suddenly, the door burst open, his uncle in the doorway with a gun at his side. With one final shove, Chan went flying out the window, the sound of glass breaking filling his ears and then time slowed. Chan’s body was hovering in mid air, but his mind moved like it would in real time. He took deep breaths, squeezing his eyes shut and willing himself to move down until his feet touched the ground.

  


Chan ran. Chan ran until he was far enough to be safe and then time moved again, but Chan wasn’t far enough away. He wasn’t far enough away to be oblivious to the gunshot that rang out and see his mother toppling out the window, bloodied and limp. That image never quite left his head, but Chan never stopped running, even when his legs were aching and crying for him to stop and let him breathe.

  
  


Thunder rumbled above him, the sky dark as it released acidic rain that trailed down the glass of the diner Chan was currently held up in. He rolled his ring between his fingertips as he glared down at the table. The only thing he could hear was the gunshot ringing out over and over again, his eyes locked on the TV screen that was playing. “This afternoon, Bang Yohoon was found in his home after shooting his sister in the head. From what we know, there was nothing that provoked the murder, but the son of the woman wasn’t in the house and no one knows where he could possibly be. Police are still investigating the house…” Chan tuned out the news after that, sipping on his coffee and occasionally eating a fry.

  


“Quite the predicament you’ve found yourself in.” Chan jumped, eyes wide as he stared at a new figure sitting across from him in the red leather booth, red lips pursed and sharp eyes boring into him. The figure was beautiful but haunting. “If you could change it, if you had your own world… would you? Would you make her fate better and kill him before he could kill you?” Chan didn’t answer. “If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn’t. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn’t be. And what it wouldn’t be, it would. You see?” Chan began to laugh out of pure and utter insanity, shaking his hand and swirling his coffee in his mug.

  


“I see that you’re insane,” Chan spat, eyes narrowed. “Listen, I don’t know you. I don’t know who you are or what you want. So, please, do us both a favor and fuck off.” A snarl that Chan didn’t use too often made it’s way up on his face and the man across from him grinned like a mad man, red lips tugged beautifully into that of a heart shape. Chan could not deny the beauty of the other man, but as said before, he had no idea who this was, and he had a feeling he wouldn’t go away. So, he froze. He focused all of his attention on that one aspect of his soul and froze time around him willingly. Except, this man did not freeze with him, a shit-eating grin on his face. “Shit.”

  


“Shit indeed, Channie Hyung. Your abilities do not affect others like you. Why do you think you saw Felix earlier today, hm?” The man leaned forward, resting his chin in the palm of his hand. Chan had the sudden urge to kiss that pout on his face until the man was begging him to stop, begging him for air with kiss-swollen lips. “Anyways, I’m Minho. Now unfreeze so I can take you somewhere safe without causing any suspicion,” Minho ordered, and Chan could not refuse. It was difficult to say no to such a demanding tone and pretty face. So, with a practical snap of his fingers, time unfroze and everyone went about their business as if nothing had happened. Minho slid out of the booth, tugging some money out of his pocket and slapping it on the table. “Come on, handsome.” And Chan took his hand.

  


They walked all the way back to the warehouse Chan assumed he wouldn’t see for a while, but instead of it looking abandoned, there were multi colored lights coming from the inside and music was blaring. It looked as if a rave was going on, but when the two walked inside, it was only a group of seven other boys who were all sitting about, laughing and eating as if nothing mattered. “Evening boys!” Minho called out over the loud music, sliding the large doors that lead inside closed and bowing at the cheers and loud, dramatic greetings from the other boys in the large warehouse. “This is Channie Hyung, give him respect as he’s going to be joining our small little family.” Minho beamed, and in that moment, Chan realized who these people were.

  


There was a group, a gang that the news had been fretting over for at least a year, and every single one of them seemed to have abilities that humans shouldn’t have. They were known for causing more trouble than necessary: robbing banks, committing heists, and ultimately terrorizing the community. It was always a wonder why they hadn’t been able to catch them, but now Chan understood. It was only then that Chan realized where that heart shaped, red lip had come from and why it had been so familiar. Minho was the ‘King of Hearts’ as the news liked to claim him as. The King of Hearts stole the such thing he ruled over, figuratively _and_ literally. “The oldest of us all is Woojin, he’s our defense against the outside world. People only see us here if we want them to see us.” A wavy haired blonde smiled and waved in his direction, a smile that swooned a good deal of the group.

  


“The two eye-fucking each other is Changbin and Seungmin. Changbin is our healer and Seungmin is our strategist.” Chan smirked lightly as the two sunk down in their seats and shared a flushed look. “The one next to Seungmin is Hyunjin, he has a very… _persuasive_ way of words. Next to him is Jeongin. He’s our inventor, but he can control fire like an additional limb. Felix and Jisung are our Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, aka our distractors. They have a conjoined power of telekinesis and are pretty strong on their own, but when they’re together…. it can get destructive.” Minho turned towards Chan, cupping his chin with one hand and glaring deep into his eyes. “And you, my dear Channie Hyung, will be very important to us. That is… if you want to join of course.” Chan gaped at him in shock, not even sure what he wanted. “You don’t have to give me an answer now. Think on it my dear.” And then he was plopping down on a heart shaped plush chair while Chan stood alone, watching all of them interact longingly. _He wanted that._

  


Hyunjin noticed Chan’s hesitance to sit down, smirking to himself and lifting his body up to approach the elder. “Come sit down, we don’t bite,” he purred, lacing their fingers together and letting his breath brush over Chan’s ear. The elder shuddered, letting himself get dragged over to one of the spare loveseats no one had been sitting in and shoved down into the soft cushions. Hyunjin sat right down on his lap, burying his face into Chan’s neck and attaching to him like a koala. “Minho Hyung was right. You are very, very handsome.” Chan shuttered at the feeling of lips trailing down his neck, mildly uncomfortable by the whole ordeal.

  


“Hyunjin! That’s enough! I can see how uncomfortable he is from here,” Minho snapped suddenly, the two’s attention flickering towards the leader. Minho had his legs crossed and a knife in his hand, twirling it with a menacing grin. Hyunjin pouted and huffed, pecking Chan on the lips once more before stumbling over to Woojin, who sat next to Felix, and draping himself across both of their laps. The two didn’t seem to care. Chan relaxed into the couch, sinking down and resting his head along the back of it before letting out a long, much-needed heaving sigh. The others tried their best to get Chan involved in their shenanigans, but Chan was unbelievably tired and so rejected their attempts in the nicest way possible. Eventually, Minho realized how tired Chan was and got up and out of his chair. “Come with me. You can stay with me tonight.” Minho offered Chan his hand like he did at the diner, but Chan was less hesitant than he had been before. There were whistles and coos from the other group as Chan and Minho trailed up the stairs. “Oh hush! All of you!” Minho snapped, but the others just laughed like a bunch of mad men. Chan was comfortable here.

  


At least far more comfortable than he had been before.

  
  


The warehouse was quiet in the mornings, and that’s what Chan liked about it so much. Most of the time, he would wake up before anyone else and put some music on after stuffing his headphones in his ears and clean up the mess from the night before. After that, the sun would begin to rise, and Chan would make a spot in a tall black velvet chair next to Minho’s heart-shaped red one and write or work on music until everyone made their way down into the main room. A good portion of the time, it was always Jeongin who would wake up first and Minho who would wake up last. However, this morning, it was barely 7:30 when Minho came stumbling down the stairs. Chan glanced at him oddly but didn’t say anything, just occasionally glancing at the younger wearing _Chan’s_ clothes and grabbing coffee from the kitchen. Minho came toward him, placing one hand in Chan’s hair and taming it for a few seconds before sipping on his coffee and sitting down in his chair.

  


Chan tried to ignore the uneven beating of his heart when he saw the way Minho curled up in his chair like a kitten with his messy hair and sleep ridden eyes, but… it didn’t really work all that well. “Channie Hyung,” Minho slurred his name out in a slow, whiny drawl and gathered the attention of the elder too easily compared to the others. Chan quirked up an eyebrow in question and Minho just made a few whiny noises. The younger stomped his foot and rolled out of his chair only to take Chan’s laptop to set it on the coffee table and make Chan’s lap fair game. Chan froze, feeling Minho settle himself in the elder’s lap and bury his legs between the cushion and Chan’s back so he was quite literally wrapped around him. “Why do you always have to get up so early, hm? Don’t you understand that I want to wake up with you in the morning?” Minho traced his pointer finger along Chan’s forehead, nose, lips, chin, and then his jawline. “Do you understand how long I’ve watched you and waited for this?” It was mildly creepy yes, but Chan already knew that Minho had been inspecting him for a few months already.

  


“I- I’m sorry, doll,” Chan stammered, relaxing when Minho’s lips met the corner of his own.

  


“Don’t apologize, just come back to bed,” Minho sighed, and that’s exactly what Chan did. Except he didn’t give Minho a warning and just lifted him up as if he weighed nothing. The younger let out a squeal. “Channie Hyung!” Minho giggled, letting out a few more when the elder peppered bold kisses along the side of Minho’s neck. Chan pushed open the door that lead into Minho’s red and black themed room, lowering the younger onto his circular mattress before going to close the door. When he turned back, Minho was sitting up, the silk covers layered over his lap and shirt hanging off of his shoulders, exposing one of his collar bones. “If you stop looking and come over here, you might get to touch too,” Minho hushed, cocking his head to the side cutely as he eyed Chan’s figure leaning against the closed door.

  


“Maybe I don’t want to touch. Maybe I just want to look at you from afar.” Chan shrugged casually, but Minho only huffed and held out his arms.

  


“Maybe we can use that in the future, but right now, I’m cold. So get over here, my dear.” Minho smiled tightly and Chan let out a chuckle, collapsing into the mattress and getting comfortable before Minho climbed on top of him. Minho straddled his hips, cupped Chan’s cheeks, and then they were kissing. Of course it had been expected, and the two had exchanged small pecks here and there, but this. This was a lot heavier. This was definitive and said everything the other needed to know. ‘You are mine.’ It said, and they didn’t argue with it at all.

  


They broke apart, Minho sinking down into both the mattress and Chan’s body, the two tracing their fingers into the other’s skin. “I want to join.” Minho brought his face out of Chan’s neck to gape down at him in pure and utter happiness. “But I want you to understand why.” The two sat up, Minho between Chan’s legs and resting his palms against his chest and Chan letting his hands lie loosely on the younger’s hips. “My dad died when I was six. From what I know and remember, he was a good man, but he was out a lot. My mom said he was involved in some bad things and got himself killed. But my mom couldn’t support us, so we had to move in with my uncle. He was okay at first, but when my aunty died, he went off the rails. You know the rest.” Minho listened intently, never an ounce of pity in his eyes, but he was indeed sorrowful that Chan had to go through what he did. “I never had a family. People at uni hated me, my mom was high all the time, and my uncle was abusive. But you guys… you’ve given me a family.”

  


Minho pecked his lips once before speaking. “We will always be a family, my dear. We will face everything together, even death.”

  


But death was too real.

  


It had been a year since he joined their little group, and he had long since gained the title of ‘King of Spades’ and lead by Minho’s side without hesitation. The two butted heads sometimes, but they worked well together, and Chan was a fantastic leader. Their heists had become far more successful since Chan was able to better control his ability, and they were practically swimming in riches and money. The elder was held up in his and Minho’s shared room when Hyunjin suddenly appeared in front of him on the bed, shouting a loud “Hi!” and causing Chan to screech and roll off the bed. Hyunjin laughed loudly, clapping his hands like a seal as he curled up on the bed. Hyunjin loved causing harmless trouble in the quieter days in the warehouse.

  


“Fuck off, you cheshire cat!” Chan seethed, shoving Hyunjin out of the room but being met with the sight of Jisung and Felix running from a dripping wet, half naked Woojin. “God damn it,” Chan muttered, Hyunjin snickering behind him as he made his way back down to the main room. Minho and Jeongin were in the kitchen, cooking a meal for everyone as Changbin and Seungmin were kissing and cuddling on the couch while also trying to figure out what their next move was. “Hey, doll,” Chan sighed, sitting at the bar where Minho had been chopping up an onion. Minho smiled and leaned over, the two pecking before Chan grabbed for a glass and poured some water into it with the pitcher resting on the counter. He watched the two cook with a fond gaze, drinking his lemonade in peace before Jeongin came rushing around, bright smile on his lips and small bowl of what looked like ramen.

  


“Hyung! Try this!” Jeongin pleaded, Chan taking the chopsticks without question and picking up a few noodles to stuff into his mouth. “Is it good?” It was.

  


Chan grinned and nodded, rubbing his palm into the middle of Jeongin’s upper back and letting his lips press into Jeongin’s shoulder. “Very good, baby.” Despite the small age difference between Jeongin and the rest, the boy had been through his fair share of trauma and was a lot younger mentally than he was literally. This made Minho undeniably protective of him so seeing Chan being so good with Jeongin made him fall more and more in love. Jeongin cheered and ran around to the other members, all of them trying it and telling him about the same thing. “What?” Chan smirked when he caught Minho’s gaze, and the younger just looked down and shook his head.

  


“I’m glad you’re here is all.”

  


Chan wished he had known about what was coming next.

  


Suddenly, there was a clang, everyone going silent, and Chan didn’t have enough time to react when he saw a metal can rolling on the floor. It went off with a bang, everyone flying back and hitting the ground. A flame broke out through the warehouse, a dull ringing in Chan’s ears as he tried his best to lift himself up. “Chan? Chan get up! Get them out!” Minho’s voice rang out, breaking through the muffled barrier of Chan’s hearing. Minho seemed to be safe, just light headed from the impact, so Chan focused on the others. He froze time, hoping the flames would stop spreading as he broke through, feeling the flames lick at his legs as he tried to suppress his screams. He carried each member out, one by one, his body never giving out from the flames. Chan was too determined to let himself collapse before everyone was safe.

  


“Come on, doll,” Chan croaked, picking Minho up and carrying him through the fire, placing him outside with the rest. His ability betrayed him at the end. Time was dangerous, and it could only be played with for so long before it takes back control, and it couldn’t have come back at a worse time. With a final push and a cry, Minho was thrown out of the warehouse doors, tumbling to the ground and catching one final glimpse of Chan’s face before his body was consumed by the flames inside, and Minho cried. Minho cried and cried and cried until he couldn’t cry anymore.

  


Minho became bitter after that. When the fire was put out, Chan’s body was never found and his and Minho’s chairs remained untouched by the flame. Out of a fit of rage, Minho went on a killing spree, killing everyone that wasn’t like them in that god forsake town, and took it over for himself. Minho became their new leader, creating a barricade for those who were like them, and the other seven had been his council. Chan’s chair remained untouched, sitting next to Minho’s in his large new home, and the elder was never spoken about upon Minho’s request. Minho never smiled, and he never cried again after that.

  


All until he woke up one morning and was met with a familiar smiling face.

  


“Hey doll, I like what you’ve done with the place. _This_ is my kind of town.”

  


Time was dangerous.




[[Moodboard]](https://twitter.com/atumun15/status/1015208499025006592)


End file.
